Sisyan is a Research and Development company currently operating in the fields of Photovoltaic Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination (PVSWRO), Photovoltaic Domestic Hot Water (PVDHW), and Adjustable Solar Panel Racking Systems.

Sisyan aims to reduce the costs and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions associated with desalination plants and domestic water heaters. With a vast knowledge of engineering, material science, fabrication, and construction methods, the team has several full-scale installations and are in the process of commercialization.

Sisyan operates a R&D facility in Baja California Sur, Mexico on the Sea of Cortez. A 60 kW PV array powers the lab, shop, irrigation, water heating, and two autonomous seawater desalination systems. Using desalinated water, over 800 trees have been planted where little but cactus grew before.

Sisyan employs 15 engineers, advisors, and consultants; many of which have been working together solving complex problems for over twenty years.

Sisyan operates two autonomous Photovoltaic Seawater Reverse Osmosis (PVSWRO) desalination labs that together have treated over 22 million gallons of seawater since 1999 using only solar energy. Sisyan was among the first to employ an Axial Piston Pump (APP) & Axial Piston Motor (APM) as a means of energy recovery.

The system was originally designed with solar photovoltaics because there was no access to the grid, but the declining cost of solar panels and batteries make this type installation preferable in large parts of the world.

Between 2007 and 2015, Sisyan has developed a variety of efficient solar water heating systems. Designs include flat plate and vacuum tube collectors. However, we believe that the declining cost of solar panels makes these technologies nearly obsolete.

Since August 2014, Sisyan has been testing a low voltage design using photovoltaic (PV) panels to heat water in a well-insulated tank with a heat exchanger.

Using PV panels eliminates the freezing, overheating, and maintenance issues associated with pumping fluid to the roof that has kept solar thermal from widespread adoption.

In 2012, Mark Holladay of Green Building Advisors predicted correctly the decline of flat plate and VT solar hot water collectors. With the recent 70% drop in the cost of PV panels, Photovoltaic Domestic Hot Water (PVDHW) has become the preferred solution. Advantages include less maintenance, faster installation time, overlap with PV industry, and lower cost. Sisyan, LLC has designed, prototyped and tested extensively 4 such installations.

Below is a detailed description of the key components:

Holding Tank

We recommend a tank capacity of 1.1 m3 for a single family home. The insulation should be 25-35R. Since the maximum water temperature will be below 60C, roto-cast technology is recommend for the tank.

Heat Exchanger - HX

The heat exchanger is made out of 50m of CT SS 316L, 1” diameter tubing.

Tubular Heat Element -30 VDC/250W

Electrical Controls

SRCC testing has been initiated and the certification is forthcoming.

The maintenance of the system is low since there is no risk of freezing or over-heating. There are no inverters, high voltage connections, pumps, circulators or booster pumps.

PV Panels Racks

Since October 2014 Sisyan LLC has developed a low-cost PV racking system for shallow angled roofs and decks. The ballast-based system will come in two versions: fixed tilt and adjustable tilt. The racks are assembled from brackets formed out of anodized aluminum sheet metal, extruded aluminum adapters, and investment cast SS 304 clamps.

Total rack hardware (excluding ballast) weighs about 3.5 kg. Ballast weight is 4x27 kg. The time needed to mount one PV panel is 0.12 to 0.6 man-hour. The time required to tilt one PV panel in preparation for a storm/hurricane is about 2-3 minutes.

By designing a racking system that can be quickly lowered while preparing for tropical storms and hurricanes, the ballast weight and material costs can be kept to a minimum.

Patent is pending

2000 W(p) La Paz, BCS, Mexico

3.5 m3

3000 W(p)

Carson City, NV, USA

Sisyan has designed, manufactured, and tested a ballast-based solar panel racking system that is fully adjustable. The design is cost-effective and can be quickly adjusted by one person to optimize the seasonal tilt of the panels.

The system has been field tested through numerous tropical storms. More information will be published shortly after patent applications are applied for.

Solar Panel Racking

Yan Kunczynski

Yan Kunczynski, ME PE

Founder

Yan is the founder and creative force behind Sisyan LLC, with over 50 years of experience designing, manufacturing, and deploying innovative solutions. Yan has been a licensed California contractor 'A' since 1963 and has filed over 20 patent applications. Yan is best known for his contributions to aerial tramways and automatic people movers.